Eddie helped the two of us climb up and get through the window, and then he followed deftly on his own. Inside, the gallery was empty and quiet—exactly how it was during regular business hours. The dim glow from the exit signs, as well as illumination from the streetlamps outside, provided enough light for us to see by, once we gave our eyes some time to adjust. We went immediately to the Raptorbot exhibit, and this time, I let Ms. Terwilliger cast an unlocking spell on the glass door. After she finished, I wondered for a moment if there might be some kind of spell on it that was keyed to me again. Then we heard an audible click, and the door swung open. Inside the case, the Raptorbot rested on top of a large stand that also had a door and an interior compartment.

“No lock,” I said, reaching to pull open the smaller door.

“Sydney, wait—” began Ms. Terwilliger, but she was too late. I’d already opened it. I froze, expecting the entire thing to explode. But, after several tense seconds, nothing happened. I exhaled in relief.

“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

She nodded, still ill at ease. “I can still sense that there’s some sort of magic here.”

“Maybe it’s the object inside this,” I said. I couldn’t make out the interior compartment’s belongings and tentatively reached my hand into the dark space, half-expecting a scorpion to sting me. Instead, my fingertips touched a large manila envelope, which I slowly pulled out. My name was written across it.

“Same handwriting,” Eddie observed.

I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, too bad we don’t have an easy way to trace—do you hear that?”

I could tell from Eddie’s face that his quicker hearing had already picked it up. Ms. Terwilliger took a little longer to notice. “Like buzzing . . .” She glanced up into the Raptorbot’s metal face. “From that.”

The buzzing grew louder and louder, and Eddie hurried forward to put himself between the display case and us. “Get back!” he shouted, just as the Raptorbot’s mouth opened and several dozen glowing objects came flying out. They came at us with unbelievable force, and I fell backward, landing awkwardly on my side. I held up my hands to block the glowing swarm, but some of them still grazed my face as they passed by. I cried out at the contact, which stung like a million paper cuts.

“What are they?” I managed to exclaim.

“Fotianas,” Ms. Terwilliger called back. She too had hit the floor and was covering her face as the swarm came by for another pass.

“Foti-what?” asked Eddie.

“They’re from the same realm Hopper comes from, but they’re much less friendly.” She cautiously removed her hands from her face so she could get a line of sight on the creatures. “Think of them as mutant fireflies.”